Short-snouted seahorse
Hippocampus hippocampus
- Scientific name
- Hippocampus hippocampus
- Group
- Reef fish
- Rarity
- Rare
- Where to see it
- Mediterranean, Temperate Atlantic / English Channel
- Conservation status (IUCN)
- Data deficient
Did you know?
In the short-snouted seahorse, it's the male who carries the eggs in a belly pouch until they hatch. Its stubby snout is what sets it apart from its long-snouted cousin, which shares the same European coastline.
What defines this group — Reef fish
The bony fish that live against coral and rock: the living backdrop of almost every dive.
- A bony skeleton, scales, and a rigid gill cover closing over the gills.
- A swim bladder acts as a float: they hold their depth without swimming.
- Many change colour, pattern — sometimes even sex — over the course of their life.
Other species in this group
- Ocellaris clownfish
- Blue tang
- Red lionfish
- Spot-fin porcupinefish
- Mediterranean moray
- Clark's anemonefish